After nearly two months, Spanish La Liga is back. The season returns with Round 15 which is scheduled for the last weekend of 2022. One of the most exciting matchups of the entire round is Barcelona vs Espanyol, which is on the program on Saturday, December 31.
As you’d imagine, Barcelona is leading the h2h series against its intercity rival with 101 wins in the Spanish top-flight, 39 draws, and 34 losses. Unsurprisingly, Catalonia’s biggest team is expected to add another win to the list – bookies see Barça as a -400 favorite.
Are they right to think so or will we see Espanyol cause a shock on New Year’s Eve? Let’s find out!
Barcelona vs Espanyol Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| Barcelona | -400 |
| Draw | +500 |
| Espanyol | +900 |
| Over/Under (Goals) | Odds |
|---|---|
| Over 2.5 | -250 |
| Under 2.5 | +200 |
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain
- Date: Saturday, December 31, 2022
- Time: 8:00 AM ET
- How to Watch: ESPN
Barça Determined to Stay Top of La Liga
Fourteen rounds of the 2022-23 La Liga have passed, and Barcelona is sitting in the no.1 position in the league standings. The bad news for Xavi’s boys is that Real Madrid is just two points behind them. What this means is that in order to stay at La Liga’s summit, they need to keep on winning.
Barça were great before the World Cup, winning six La Liga games in a row before the break. Are they going to be able to pick up where they left off? It sure seems like it as they’ve had plenty of time to prepare for the next portion of the season.
They had enough time to rest, as well. The thing is that only two of their players stayed in Qatar until the very end. The men in question are two Frenchmen – Jules Kounde (defender) and Ousmane Dembele (winger). All of their other key men returned to Spain weeks before.
Espanyol Worrying About Relegation
With just 12 points after 14 matches, Espanyol is sitting just two spots above the relegation zone. The worst thing is that Sevilla and Cadiz CF – the two closest teams from the danger section – have only one point fewer than them.
What this means is that the chances are high that Espanyol will drop to the bottom three if they lose to Barcelona on December 31.
Unfortunately for them, their players don’t seem capable of preventing that. They’re completely out of shape in 2022, especially in the offense. With just 16 goals scored so far, they’re one of the least productive teams in the league. In comparison, Barcelona has scored more than twice as many goals (33, to be precise).
Barcelona vs Espanyol Prediction
Espanyol’s best players are those from the attacking department, but they just haven’t been very lethal this season. The reason why this should worry them is that they probably won’t get too many goal chances on New Year’s Eve. Barcelona players are the ones who will almost certainly control the game.
Knowing all this, we can only assume that we’re going to witness a dominating display by the home team. Barcelona will win, probably by a big margin, while also keeping a clean sheet.
Picks: Barcelona to win to nil; over 2.5 goals